Cardinals’ All-Star Pitcher in a Legal Jam

ST. LOUIS (CN) — After losing a Sunday game 6-1 to the Washington Nationals, a St. Louis Cardinals All-Star pitcher danced around questions about the lawsuit a former girlfriend has filed against him. Diana Molina filed a federal complaint against Carlos Ernesto Martinez in Miami on April 21. She claims he gave her herpes and gonorrhea after a fling last December. Martinez left the team briefly last week to attend to the matter in Florida. Sunday was Martinez’s first start, and first media availability, since the story surfaced late last week. “I’m pretty sure I am healthy and I’m pretty sure I’m feeling good and I’m pretty sure I know who I am and at the same time this is not part of the job,” Martinez said through an interpreter. “That’s for my lawyer and agent to take care of.” Martinez’s attorney, Ruben Scolavino, told TMZ that the allegations “are 100 percent false.” Molina claims in the lawsuit that she and Martinez had had an on-again, off-again relationship since 2012. She says Martinez took her out on Dec. 15 for her birthday, which lasted into the early hours of Dec. 16. On the date, Martinez “swore to God that he was not infected with any sexually transmitted diseases” and promised that “he had been tested for sexually transmitted diseases only one month before and that the results were negative,” the lawsuit states. Molina says they had sexual intercourse on Dec. 16 and a couple more times over the next two days. “By the evening of December 19, Molina was feeling awful,” the complaint states. “She was unable urinate given the pain. “Molina texted Martinez and informed him that she felt terrible and that her private parts were irritated.” Molina says that the next day, Martinez left for his native Dominican Republic without telling her. She says she learned later that Martinez was still in a relationship with the mother of his children. On Dec. 21, Molina says, she started to urinate blood, noticed a lesion on her vagina and made a doctor’s appointment. “As a result of the doctor’s appointment, Molina would learn that she had a urinary tract infection, yeast infection, gonorrhea and herpes,” the complaint states. “Plaintiff never had intercourse with anyone else during the time leading up to the December sexual encounter with defendant. “Only a few weeks prior to intercourse with Martinez in December, Molina was tested negative for sexually transmitted diseases.” Molina accuses Martinez of “selfishly, callously, and recklessly concealing that he carried a life-changing disease” that he knew she could contract. She seeks more than $1.5 million for battery, negligent transmission of sexually transmitted diseases, breach of fiduciary duty and fraudulent concealment. She is represented by Chad W. Dunn of Brazil & Dunn in Miami. Martinez, 24, is a rising star in Major League baseball. An All-Star last season, Martinez won his first four starts of the 2016 season before Sunday’s loss. He is 4-1 with a 2.60 ERA. Cardinals General Manager John Mozeliak addressed the issue before Saturday’s game. “We are just learning of this matter,” Mozeliak told MLB.com. “I was notified by Carlos’ agent the other night. Until we learn more details, we will not be in a position to act until we have further information.”